Pac-12 Basketball Power rankings: The week of the upset strikes Arizona
By Mason Duhon
Long shots
Last week: 7. . . . 8. 8. . 521. 10-7, 2-4 in Pac-12.
Washington was the team to finally dampen the hot start Arizona State got off to in conference play. Shooting over 50% from both the field and the arc alongside a pair of 20-plus point performances from Sahvir Wheeler (24) and Keion Brooks Jr. (22) brought the Huskies their 10th win of the season. Braxton Meah also logged a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds.
In a cruel twist of fate, the Huskies were then dashed 73-61 by UCLA of all teams. It's hard to win games when one man (Sahvir Wheeler, 27 points) makes up nearly half of the total offense. The Huskies let UCLA claim an 8-7 lead and trailed for the entire remainder of the game. Even a horrendous UCLA season couldn't snap the losing streak, which has now moved to nine games.
Next week: The Huskies will be hitting the road and will be Bay Area bound as they prepare to take on Cal on Saturday and Stanford on Sunday. Washington can give themselves a better shot at a March appearance by sweeping the weekend, but Stanford has proven to be dangerous.
516. 9-7, 1-4 in Pac-12. Last week: 8. . . 9. OSU. . .
Oregon State is on a slow downward slide. The Beavers struggled mightily to try and pull away from Stanford, but they let a 12-point lead slip from their grasp. 21 points from Jordan Pope weren't able to get it done, especially when paired with a game-lead-tying five turnovers. Even in OT, the Beavers only held the lead once: a 1-point advantage that lasted for a total of 13 seconds.
Next week: Oregon State actually has the rare full week of rest and won't see action again until Thursday. The Beavers will need it, though, as they will be facing a Utah team that's catching fire at the right time on Thursday and a Colorado team looking to show its mettle on Saturday.